The ISI Change phenomenon: When contradicting one stereotype changes another

When a population is perceived to consist of two mutually exclusive and exhaustive groups, the stereotypes that people form of these groups are likely to be interdependent. We predicted that stereotype-incongruent information about members of one group (target group) may then evoke change in the stereotype of another group (alternative group) even in the absence of any stereotype-incongruent information about members of the alternative group. We demonstrated this Indirect Stereotype-Incongruence Induced (ISI) Change phenomenon in two studies using novel groups (Study 1 and 2). The effect occurred when the incongruent information was about a competent target group (changing the stereotype about the less competent alternative group) but not when it was about an incompetent target group (Study 2). The ISI Change phenomenon implies that stereotypes may change even in the absence of directly stereotype-incongruent information.